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Self-Improvement

How To Tell If You're Stressed & Why You Should Stop Ignoring It

Ev Chapman
March 18, 2022
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I've been a little MIA this week.

You might have noticed, maybe not? On Monday I landed myself in the hospital after having chest pains & thinking I was having a heart attack. Don't worry, I was cleared of any heart problems.

I spoke to a couple of my friends and they asked me 'Are You Stressed?'

And the answer is no. I am probably the least stressed I've been in my entire life. I'm definitely working more. But honestly, it feels so effortless and I love it so much so it doesn't feel stressful at all. When my creative brain has a bee in its bonnet it goes full steam ahead.

But the body tells the real story of what's going on.

Up until this week, I thought I was actually OK at reading my body's signals and knowing when to slow down or even stop. But it's clear that I've missed some signals. And It's hard to admit defeat, especially as a high achiever.

But instead of wrestling against it, I'm using the constraint to make some positive lifestyle choices:

Hard Stop on Screen Time. The plan is to work out a schedule for sitting in front of screens & give myself hard stops throughout the day.

Check In With My Body Daily. What is it telling me? What do I need to do to make it happy & function optimally?

Get Outside Daily. Get some morning sunshine, breath in the fresh air, feel the earth between my toes, jump in the ocean.

Be OK with FOMO. It's scary to think slow in a world that is moving so fast. And it will mean missing out on things - and being ok with that.

Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, just recalibrating and learning to do this life thing in a more sustainable way.

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